All Things are Possible

“O Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Matthew 15:22

This story in Matthew is difficult to understand. It’s like the Canaanite woman pleading with Jesus deciphered a secret code while she was speaking to Jesus. She was desperate when she approached Him. For one, she was a woman and women just did not approach men in public. But she persisted. Then she was also a Canaanite, and Canaanites and Jews were like oil and water in Jesus’ time. But she persisted. 

It does not matter what Jesus said, even if it seemed as if He was rejecting her petition. She persisted. Even the disciples wanted to send her away as if she was an inconsequential pest. She persisted. What was the code she deciphered?

Surely it was her faith that opened the door! Jesus acknowledged: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish!” And her daughter was healed. 

In Hebrews 11:6, Saint Paul declares, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God!” In Mark 6:5, we are told that Jesus could do no great miracles because there was such a lack of faith there. But even if we find ourselves lacking faith, we should just persist as the Canaanite woman did. 

We can also resort to praying like the father of the sick child in Mark 9:23-25, when told by Jesus, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”